INDIANAPOLIS – Stephane Milhim's journey to the NFL Scouting Combine began during one of his daily walks to the bus stop while a freshman in high school.

Despite his size, the Haiti native was never interested in football. He was a soccer player who hadn't considered using his frame to protect a quarterback. But a football coach caught sight of him on the sidewalk and immediately began touting the virtues of the sport.

Milhim decided to listen and give the game a shot.

He wasn't an instant star on the offensive line and received only a few scholarship offers. He finally settled on the University of Massachusetts, where he started 37 of 40 games, blossomed into a star and put himself on the
cusp of making a career out of a sport once foreign to him.

"It was a long
process. It was pretty cool," Milhim said. "You get to see the guys you watch
on TV all the time – Alabama guys, LSU guys. It kind of hit me, like, I'm here
too, with these guys."

The 6-foot-3, 314-pounder spent his final season at UMass
playing tackle, his preferred position, though he believes
whatever team drafts him will ask him to play on the inside at guard.

With that transition in mind, he began preparing for the combine Jan. 2 and hasn’t taken any time off since, specifically focusing on lateral movement, the biggest weakness he sees in his game.

As far as his strengths go, Milhim feels his
athleticism and footwork – something he credits to years of soccer
– will allow him to play in the NFL and continue in the proud tradition of
Minutemen who paved the way, such as Victor Cruz, James Ihedigbo and
Vladimir Ducasse.

“I’m very confident in myself that I can make it,” Milhim said. “I’m a very good player myself. I’ve been happy for those guys, and they’ve done well for themselves.”

While he continually talked up UMass, and sang the
praises of his experience there and with new coach Charley Molnar, Milhim
was disappointed he had to spend his final season playing in Gillette
Stadium before sparse crowds, two hours away from the Amherst campus he considered home.

At first, it was a thrill seeing Patriots like Rob Gronkowski and Vince Wilfork around the New England facility, but the novelty soon wore off, and all that was left were long bus rides and rows of empty seats.

"Personally, I didn't enjoy it. I like playing at McGuirk (Stadium),"
he said. "It was a cool experience. Who gets to play in an NFL stadium every
week? I feel like a lot of guys were happy, but personally I'd rather play at my
home stadium.

"Obviously McGuirk is a lot smaller than Gillette. There's
probably more people at McGuirk. It would have been a better atmosphere."

Eventually that issue will be fixed for future UMass players, and if Milhim’s professional dreams come true, he may never again have to worry about the home crowd coming out to support him.